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Friday, November 28, 2008

A Love For All Seasons - Denise Domning

Johanna of Stanrudde despises her husband, a man her dying father pressured her to wed. Robert of Blacklea is the man of her heart, a man who cruelly abandoned her yet still haunts her dreams. When he finally returns, it is too late. Johanna is a wife and mother--any hope of love she might harbor for him is not only foolish, it's dangerous. But there is too much passion behind her pain--a passion that matches his own. Defying those who would forbid their love, Robert and Johanna will choose death rather than give up the dream that heaven is within their reach .…

I loved all 4 books that I previously read by Domning and I was looking forward to this one to finsh the series. I found that this one was very different in tone from the others. First because it deals mostly with the merchant class, there is no keep and solar here (we had been to Stanrudde before in Richard and Philippa's story but they were both of noble upbringing, then because half the story is told in flashbacks and finally because this is the reunion of young lovers.

I must confess to have been a bit disoriented with so many flashbacks especially in the beginning. I wasn't familiarized with the characters yet when we were already jumping to their past. Once I became more immersed in the story it was easier to deal with all that jumping in time.

I did like how Domning dealt with the subject and how she developed the mystery plot and brought to our attention how important those vows were. Another thing that I liked was to get another glimpse into the merchant way of life, how they were organized and how important it was that there were trustworthy agents to but and sell the product.

Unfortunately I didn't like Robert or Johanna very much, I missed the emotional connection between them and didn't find them particularly likeable.

A 3/5 for this one makes it my least favourite of the series but I definitely want to read more by this author.